Re: book sharing (was: Re: Pedagogy)

[Bernard Cleyet <anngeorg@PACBELL.NET>]

I wondered if anyone out there realized it was at least 6 X $125 /
year.  [50% more for quarter system]

Evidently the change, from anyone capable and willing to take the effort
got very subsidized education to the cut throat privatization
(capitalist) education we have now, was so gradual no one remembers what
it was mid century.  I think this goes a long way to explaining why "we"
no longer dominate in most of the criteria for excellence in industry,
science and technology.

U.S. Is Losing Its Dominance in the Sciences

May 3, 2004
By WILLIAM J. BROAD


The United States has started to lose its worldwide
dominance in critical areas of science and innovation,
according to federal and private experts who point to
strong evidence like prizes awarded to Americans and the
number of papers in major professional journals.

Foreign advances in basic science now often rival or even
exceed America's, apparently with little public awareness
of the trend or its implications for jobs, industry,
national security or the vigor of the nation's intellectual
and cultural life.

"The rest of the world is catching up," said John E.
Jankowski, a senior analyst at the National Science
Foundation, the federal agency that tracks science trends.
"Science excellence is no longer the domain of just the
U.S."

Even analysts worried by the trend concede that an
expansion of the world's brain trust, with new approaches,
could invigorate the fight against disease, develop new
sources of energy and wrestle with knotty environmental
problems. But profits from the breakthroughs are likely to
stay overseas, and this country will face competition for
things like hiring scientific talent and getting space to
showcase its work in top journals.

.......

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/03/science/03RESE.html?ex=1084592597&ei=1&en=d6c2959803fd4941 <http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/03/science/03RESE.html?ex=1084592597&ei=1&en=d6c2959803fd4941>


bc, who thinks this is blow back from the ruler's success in their class warfare

p.s. I read more than one article about fear for the health of elementary school children because of their heavy book bags.

Vickie Frohne wrote:

> I used to teach at a state university. Several students there complained
> that their textbooks for one semester cost more than their tuition.  $500 or
> more per semester for textbooks is common. It's a non-trivial expense,
> especially for students who are trying to support themselves while in
> college. I always try to make sure that one or two copies of my texts are on
> reserve in the library (in-library use only) for those who are either
> "financially embarrassed" or who don't want to lug a 2.3 kg book around all
> day. The mass of physics texts is also a non-trivial concern.
>
> Vickie Frohne